COMPANY

Photos by Afshin Odabaee

FOUNDER

RAISA PUNKKIChoreographer, dancer, producer, founder of punkkiCo Raisa Punkki is a San Francisco-based dance artist who was born and raised in Finland. While living in Europe she worked and studied to learn several genres of dance and movement practices including ballet, contemporary dance, butoh, jazz, boxing and Pilates, so she could better understand and tell the stories through the moving body. In Europe she worked and toured with Kenneth Kvarnström, Tero Saarinen and Anzu Furukawa, among others. After moving to San Francisco in 2003, she founded her dance company punkkiCo in 2005. Punkki is a mother of two children. Through that life altering change she has been able to receive yet another way to gain knowledge of the female human body and mind. Her quest in life is to try to find the answer and keep asking the question: why? She constantly tries to broaden her range of experiences so she can find, capture and expose life’s significant moments through her art making. Raisa Punkki’s artistic exploration happens through different forms of contemporary dance, theatrical work and through collaboration with artists from different disciplines. The creation of her choreographies takes time and the final presentation is based on the maturity of the idea. For her, the strongest form of expression is the nonverbal communication that happens beyond words. This is what Raisa Punkki says about her experiences as an artist:

​“The purpose of my creative work is to shake the unconscious mind and tap in to empathy and connections between people for deeper understanding.”

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PERFORMERS

MEEGAN HERTENSTEINER has been trained in many various art forms including modern, ballet, jazz, tap, theatre, musical theatre, and voice. She received her BFA in modern dance performance from University of Oklahoma in 2005. While at OU she performed in both Ballet and Modern companies and had the opportunity to perform nationally and internationally. In 2006, Meegan was hired by Ballet New England in Portsmouth, NH as a company member, choreographer, and teacher. In fall of 2007 Meegan relocated to San Francisco, California. In 2008 she co-founded Human Creature Dance Theatre with Derek Harris which opened it's home studio in 2012. While in SF, Meegan has been involved with many artists and projects, including and Cali & Co, Number 9 Dance Company, Soul Force Dance Company, Ziru Dance, punkkiCo, Deborah Slater Dance Theater and has taught classes and workshops both nationally and throughout the bay area. She currently dances with punkkiCo, Deborah Slater Dance Theater, and performs and co-directs Human Creature Dance Theatre. Meegan is on staff with the ODC Youth/Teen program and teaches an adult mixed level contemporary class at City Dance Studio. PICK CELLS (2011), OTHER SPACE (2013), UNTITLED (2014), UNTITLED I (2015), SALVE REGINA (2016), A ROOM (OF OUR OWN) (2017), CONTROLE (2018)

DEREK HARRIS is a multidisciplinary artist who believes in creative expression through any means necessary and has experience in the visual arts, photography, film, theatre, music, dance, choreography, and writing. Derek began his formal dance training at the University of Oklahoma where he received several awards in modern dance as well as scholarships to attend the University of Oklahoma, the American Dance Festival, and the Joffrey Workshop. Since moving to San Francisco in 2007, Derek has worked as a dancer with Ziru Dance, Hope Mohr Dance, punkkiCo, Deborah Slater Dance Theatre, and Human Creature Dance Theatre which he co-founded in 2008. As a musician and lyricist, Derek co-founded the underground comedy rap duo Power Raymond (2003-2007), and is a co-founder of the alt hip-hop group Real not Real (2017). Derek has choreographed for stage, film, commercials, and music videos. He has presented work nationally and performed internationally.PICK CELLS (2011), OTHER SPACE (2013), UNTITLED (2014), UNTITLED I (2015), CONTROLE (2018)

HIEN HUYNH is a movement enthusiast, choreographer, and dancer. Born in Da Nang, Vietnam, he migrated at the age of three with his family to Oakland, CA. Hien began as a self-taught free form mover with exposure to break dance, parkour, contemporary, and hip hop. From UC Davis, he received a B.A. in Dramatic Arts: Dance & Theater and also a B.A. in Communication. Hien has performed in the works of Kim Epifano, Robert Moses’ Kin, John Jasperse, Raissa Simpson, Kinetech Arts, Lenora Lee, Angela 'Dice' Nguyen, Bob McGrath, and Qudus Onikeku. Using movement as a medium to communicate the unspoken, he hopes to closer link the human to human, heart to heart connection.CONTROLE (2018)

KARLA QUINTERO is a dance artist based in the Bay Area. She has had the honor of performing locally in works by Hope Mohr, Eric Garcia & Kat Cole (Detour Dance), Christy Funsch, Trisha Brown (in conjunction with Hope Mohr's Bridge Project), Jo Kreiter, Kim Epifano, Robert Moses, Dexandro Montalvo, Deborah Karp, Aura Fischbeck & Alma Esperanza Cunningham. She is currently an artist-in-residence at the Shawl Anderson Dance Center where she researches immersive and interdisciplinary performance experiences. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance and a BA in Urban Studies from Barnard College.CONTROLE (2018)

DALTON ALEXANDER began training at the University of New Mexico in 2010, working with Donna Jewell, Vladimir Conde-Reche, Erika Pujic, and Lisa Nevada; and taking summer intensives at LINES and SF Conservatory of Dance intermittently. Upon graduating, he moved to Berlin to join the Dance Intensive program at Tanzfabrik-Berlin. Here he was introduced to a deeper way of connecting to the body through practices such as Klein Technique™. Dalton carried this knowledge to London where he received his MA in Dance Performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance as a Leverhulme Scholar in the graduate company, Transitions Dance Company '16. Under the direction of Rahel Vonmoos and David T. Waring, Dalton worked with Theo Clinkard, Dog Kennel Hill Project, and Ederson Rodriguez Xavier, touring throughout the UK and abroad to Finland, Norway, and Ireland. He also published his thesis, “Working Towards Total Presence Through Awareness: The IAP” where his current performance practice is derived. Dalton is interested in the intersection of improvisation, somatic practices, and performance.CONTROLE (2018)

MIHYUN LEE is a dancer and choreographer who moved to San Francisco from Seoul, South Korea in 2009. She received her BA in Performing Arts and Choreography from Kook-min University in 2005. Since then she has traveled and worked in several continents as a choreographer and dancer. Mihyun received her MA from California Institute of Integral Studies in Somatic Psychology program. She wishes to deepen her understanding of body and mind. Mihyun volunteers at Asian Women’s Shelter and the Art for Recovery program at UCSF, serving survivors of domestic violence and cancer. She teaches contact improvisation at Counter Pulse and a movement class called Nothing into Something at City Dance Studios. At the Bay Area Mihyun has been performing with Erika Tsimbrovsky, Anne Bluethenthal and Le Dongh among others.​END TRANCE (2010), UNTITLED I (2015), SALVE REGINA (2016), A ROOM (OF OUR OWN) (2017)

FANNI MIETTINEN is an eleven year old dancer and performer. Fanni’s first performance with punkkiCo was at choreographer Punkki’s Salve Regina in January 2016 at NOHspace. Her appearance at Salve was well received by the audience. Her presence was praised as mesmerizing, professional and engaging. Fanni is currently studying ballet at San Francisco Ballet School with full scholarship. She has been performing at San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker and Don Quixote. Fanni has a black belt in Taekwondo.SALVE REGINA (2016), A ROOM (OF OUR OWN) 2017

JENNIFER MEEK graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in contemporary dance from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA where she performed the works of Daniel Ezralow, David Parsons, Sean Curran, and Margo Sappington. In Chicago she had the pleasure of working with Thodos Dance Chicago, Lucky Plush Productions, Concert Dance, and Hedwig Dances performing works by Lauri Stallings, Lar Lubovitch, Ann Reinking, and Bill Young. Locally Jennifer has performed with Kunst-stoff, Capacitor, Moving Arts, and currently punkkiCo and Floating Rib. She teaches contemporary dance and mindful yoga throughout the bay area and has presented choreography at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, Dance Chicago, California Center for the Arts (Escondido), The Garage, Dance Mission Theater, Spector Dance, the MAD BAD festival, and Works In The Works. Jennifer is also a Yoga Therapist, passionate about health, well being and artistic expression. She finds herself continually fascinating by the transformative potential of both dance and yoga. END TRANCE (2010), POLAR NIGHT (2010), PICK CELLS (2011), CHAOS2012 (2012), OTHER SPACE (2013), UNTITLED (2014), UNTITLED I (2015), SALVE REGINA (2016)

SARAH KEENEY is a dancer, performer, teacher and choreographer based in the Bay Area since 2008. Her recent endeavors allowed her the opportunities to perform on stilts, on the ground and flying from pirate ships in Colombia, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Finland, Denmark, and around the US. Sarah has taught at universities, orphanages, studios, schools, and in the street. She currently teaches at ODC, Alonzo Kings Lines Dance Center, Shawl Anderson Dance Center and for Bandaloop. Sarah performs with punkkiCo, Bandaloop and The Carpetbag Brigade and is Artist in Residence at The Propbox Studios in East Oakland. Since moving to the Bay, she has also danced with Scott Wells & Dancers, Nina Haft, Bianca Cabrera's Blind Tiger Society, Lizz Roman, Cielo Vertical Arts and in her own work.POLAR NIGHT (2010), PICK CELLS (2011), CHAOS2012 (2012), OTHER SPACE (2013), UNTITLED (2014), UNTITLED I (2015), SALVE REGINA (2016)

COLLABORATORS

JACK BEUTTLER is a Bay Area native who studied philosophy at UC Berkeley. His lighting, video and production designs have appeared with Dance Theater of San Francisco, Hope Mohr Dance, Risa Jaroslow, LEVYdance, Lamplighters Music Theatre and many others and have been called “cool” and “evocative” by the San Francisco Chronicle. Most recently he designed Les Vérités for dawsondancesf at Yerba Buena Center For The Arts. He is a recipient with GERALDCASELDANCE of the 2015 Lighting Artists in Dance grant and with punkkiCo in 2017. As a production manager and lighting director he has toured across the country and internationally with a number of companies including to Sweden with the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and The Kennedy Center with Van Anh Vo’s Odyssey. He has worked for Composers Inc., Fluid Hug-Hug, ODC Theater, Grisha Coleman, and others as a Production Manager, Stage Manager, Technical Director and Lighting Director. He's the Production Manager for the Sun Valley Summer Symphony in Idaho and for Opera Parallele in San Francisco and freelances out of Oakland, California.SALVE REGINA (2016), CONTROLE (2018)

ALICE MALIA is an artist, and a set and costume designer for theatre and dance. She started 'performing the design' during the devising process with her London-based theatre company3Fates on their shows 'Return' and 'To Close Your Eyes is to Travel'. Developed with The Yard Theatre (London), The National Theatre (London), and seen across the UK and at Aat international Theatre Festival (Amman, Jordan). 3Fates were also resident artists at Amherst college (Massachusetts) in 2012. Alice has worked with devised, site-specific and immersive theatre. Her designs for the stage have been shown in across London, the Edinburgh Festival, the UK and internationally. She has been a visiting lecturer in Theatre Design at Rose Bruford College of Performing Arts, London. Her first collaboration with Raisa Punkki was at Fall 2015. Alice is also an accomplished artist and illustrator, with an an extensive portfolio of illustration and mural work for both commercial and private clients.SALVE REGINA (2016), A ROOM (OF OUR OWN) (2017), CONTROLE (2018)

AARON M. GOLD creates visceral music that moves. Born in California and grown in the Czech Republic, he received his BFA in Jazz and Contemplative Studies at the University of Michigan. A composer, drummer and percussionist, Aaron writes music for contemporary dance companies and performs with Oakland bands Astronauts, etc., Perhapsy, and Madeline Kenney. Aaron is the resident composer for Kristin Damrow and Company and has been commissioned by Sonoma State University and choreographer Jennifer Meek, Twisted Oak Dance Theater, Fall Fast Dance, Human Creature Dance Theater and punkkiCo. A ROOM (OF OUR OWN) (2017), CONTROLE (2018)

MARK HERTENSTEINER is a composer, producer, performer, programmer, and teacher. Mark has worked in collaboration with San Francisco-based companies punkkiCo and Human Creature. In addition to producing his own music, Mark has recorded and produced albums for both bands of which he’s been a member, Wolves and OTSB, while living in Tulsa, OK. He also sang with the Signature Chorale and Symphony at TCC, regularly featured as soloist, during the last two years of his time in Oklahoma, and has been singing with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Mark grew up playing the piano, placing in concerto competitions in high school, and the pipe organ, serving as substitute and part time organist in his hometown of Simsbury, CT as well as more recently in Tulsa. After studying chemical engineering for three years at M.I.T., Mark refocused his studies on music, graduating with a Degree in Engineering and Humanities. Ever since, he has continued to delve into the intersection of music and technology, whether it’s been as part of a solo or group music or multimedia collaboration, or in the role of recording engineer / producer, or as coordinator and teacher for the studio recording and pro audio program at Tulsa Central Fine and Performing Arts Magnet High School. His personal projects have included things like an instrument app for iPad, live 3-D projected visuals for band performances using MS Kinect, and building devices using Arduino / micro-controllers. Mark is currently studying at Stanford University. UNTITLED (2014), UNTITLED I (2015), SALVE REGINA (2016)

PAULIINA PUNKKI is a writer, director, film editor and producer. She is a native of Finland who currently resides in Cologne, Germany. Ms. Punkki has worked as a professional in Film, Television, and art projects for over ten years. She has an MA from University of Art and Design School of Motion Picture, Television, and Production Design, Helsinki, Finland. She has also studied directing and editing in Netherlands, USA and Germany. Her resume as Director and Film Editor includes several award-winning feature films, documentaries and short films including animated short film Feng Shui that has received several awards and nominations in Finland, Armenia, Brazil and Russia among others. She has also organized on behalf of Women In Film and Television, Finland discussion seminars for Film Festivals as well as her own Film Festival Living Pictures Film Festival, Kathmandu Nepal. Ms. Punkki has worked in Film, television and art projects in Finland, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Germany, India, Nepal and USA. Pauliina Punkki is creating Roadmap 2015-2025 series with choreographer Raisa Punkki. roadmap10.comROADMAP10: TO DO (2015), PASSAGE (2016), ROOM (OF OUR OWN) (2017)

MARIA ROS PALMKLINT is a light designer, who works and lives in Stockholm, Sweden. She has a BA in theater technique from Dramatiska Institutet Stockholm. Over the years she has worked with several leading Scandinavian and European choreographers and theater directors and has done light design and toured extensively with Kenneth Kvarnström & Co. She has been a technical director in many Scandinavian dance companies’ tours that has been ranging from Europe to South Africa, Japan to USA. She is currently working as a head of lights at Klarascen and Lillascen Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm, Sweden.ROOM (OF OUR OWN) (2017)

DONATE

If you want to support our work, you can do a tax deductible donation via our fiscal sponsor ​Dancers' Group​​punkkiCoCreating artistically rewarding and inspirational performances by transforming emotion into motion.